The 5oz Foodie

Happy Halloween everyone! I had a great time celebrating at work today and seeing the whopping 11 kids that stopped by tonight... But it was fun to see the itty bittys come through all dressed up... Then of course the traditional late dinner at Steak n' Shake, a Halloween tradition... Falling asleep at the keyboard... Musicsongbird

Sometimes the hardest thing for us to do is ask for help... Especially when you are used to taking care of yourself or you think that asking for help makes you look weak or like you have failed in some way... I think it takes more courage to ask for help than it does to have to suffer through avoidable problems... As someone who has had to ask for help many many many times throughout my life, I know how hard it is to swallow my pride and let others know I am struggling but I believe it makes you more aware when others are in need of help and are afraid to ask, that way I can offer my help to help take some of the akwardness away from them... Anyway, don't be afraid to ask for help... Musicsongbird

I have some amazing friends as I have said many times over... Today we all came together to celebrate the return of our sweet Sister to work after her Battle with cancer... It was such an incredible hour this morning to get to see her and see the outpouring of love from everyone... We laughed and joked and she thanked us all and said the jokes are OK, because it makes recovery easier... Having been through the cancer battle with my dad, the hardest thing to make someone realize is that it's good to laugh once in awhile... Even though cancer is a very serious disease, laughter truly is the best healer... If you are emotionally healthy you will be less stressed and less stress is always a benefit... As a friend of mine reminds us all daily at work... Every day is a gift... Musicsongbird

At the beginning of the month I told about my amazing cousin that lost her battle with cancer... Tonight I am telling the story of a friend of mine that is a survivor... Earlier this year my friend was asked if she wanted full time as a core trainer and at one point it was something she definitely wanted but when the position became available she had changed her mind... She felt like she had other things happening in her life and full time didn't fit into them anymore... Then around August she was approached to be one of the Core trainers for the Food and Wine Festival and as honored as she was to be asked she declined... Then I received a phone call last month from her telling me the news that she had found a lump and it was cancer... From the time our work family was told until she went on leave was maybe two weeks... She made the decision that since cancer was found in one breast that she would have both of them removed... I have never seen a woman more confident in her de...

I read this great article tonight about the 10 worst habits for people trying to lose weight and I think I should share them, along with my take on the list... #10 - Stop calling it a diet... When we call it a diet you get it in your head that when you have something that isn't a part of your "diet" you have been bad and really the first three letters in Diet are DIE... So STOP calling it a Diet... #9 - Overhauling your eating habits over night... The fat didn't get there over night and the bad habits didn't start overnight... Think about it this way: imagine a snowball, it's about the size of a baseball... Now in order to make a snowman you have to start rolling it in the snow... As you roll it, it starts to get bigger because more snow is adding itself to your tiny snowball...And before you know it you have the base of your snowman ready to go... You need to think of your eating habits in this way too... Start off small... If you drink 2% milk switch...

My birthday weekend has come to an end and I have to say this was a great month... Going to dinner and taking the road trip was nice but the memories made and the great conversations had is what made it so memorable... As I have said a bunch of times before, I am so excited to see what is to come in this year... What celebrations I will be a part of and adventures I will have... Here is to another year! Musicsongbird

I survived it and lived to tell about it... And you know what? 40 really doesn't feel any different from 39... However, it does make you think about getting older... I know every birthday we get older it's just that milestone birthdays really make you reflect on what you have done and what you still would like to accomplish... Last week a very special friend called and left me an incredible message really just encouraging me to look beyond the outside appearance and help me to remember that your true beauty shines from within... You can have the most beautiful person in the world and if they have a horrible outlook on life and the world around then and they are never happy than their outer self will begin to match their inner self... I know many people like me and that I have an infectious laugh and smile, as I was told by this friend as well as BFF, and I need to remember that when I start to get down on myself about my current size (28)... With all of that being said, my ...

It's fabulous being 40! I had a super fun birthday with Mom and BFF... We had a quick breakfast at Wawa and then we hit the road for Sarasota! There wasn't a total plan in place but I did have some specific food requests for the day... Normally I have things planned out for the entire trip but this time it was lets visit the food places as planned for lunch and dinner but lets just see where the day takes us for the rest... I think I spend too much time planning every second that I need to learn to let go and go with the flow... I am working on an updated bucket list so more to come, but for now this old lady is off to dreamland... Musicsongbird

My last Blog... As a 30 Something... When I wake up in the morning I will be entering the next decade of my life... It's funny when I tell people that I am turning 40, because I get one of two reactions... 1st Reaction: NO WAY!!!! You can't be that old. You're lying... ( yes because I would say I am older than I am ) And my favorite: Don't take offense, but I thought you were in  your late 20's... ( Really? You think that telling me I look at least 10 years younger than I am is offensive??? ) 2nd Reaction: Oh turning 40 isn't bad. 30 was fine, 40 was fine, but at 50 you are like, I BETTER MAKE A LIST! So, I have been thinking for the past week for the best memory that I have had in my 30's and there have been so many but as of recent the best most happiest memory I have is my Mom retiring and moving down to live with me... It isn't always easy because life living with your adult child can't be all of the time, but I wouldn't change...

I am loving that I am turning 40... I have loved being in my 30's but 40 just seems like a new adventure... Tonight I went to trivia night with some of my friends and it was a blast... Our team name was Oh No! Guess who's 4-0! And about half way through the contest the trivia guy came over to our table to see who's Birthday it was... When he returned to his table he had everyone in the bar raise their glasses and do a group toast for me, wishing me a happy 40th Birthday! Then a guy from one of the other teams came over and told me I do NOT look 40, he thought I was in my late 20's... I just wanted to give him a big old kiss, but I settled for a picture together... We didn't come in first, but we did come in 4th but it was out of 8 teams, so I think we did pretty good... :) To my friends that couldn't make it tonight, I missed you a lot but we will schedule another one so we can all be together... And come in 1st place this time!!! I have made some incred...

I think one of the coolest things I have had the opportunity to do in the past 10 years was step into a recording studio to record my own album... In 1998 I graduated from Webster University with a degree in Music... I have sang in church for years and it's something I love very much... Anyone that knows me well knows how much I love singing, especially music by Sandi Patty... When I decided to move to Florida, Mom decided that I couldn't move without recording a CD... So I found a recording studio that was reasonably priced and scheduled my session... I didn't quite know what to expect when I walked in but at the same time, it was everything I thought it would be and more... The engineer took me to one of the studios and had me sit on this incredible leather couch while he prepared my accompaniment CDs that I had brought with me... He also offered me bottled water... Once he was ready he took me into the sound booth and explained how everything worked... He showed me h...

If you would have told me 10 years ago that my middle Brother and one of my best girlfriends were going to be married to each other, I probably would have laughed in your face... But three years ago, my sister by choice became my sister-in-love... Back when she was living in another city years ago she asked me if I thought she should move back home to the STL... Of course missing her terribly I thought it would be great and it would also give her piece of mind since she is an only child and she could be closer to her parents... Upon moving back she found a condo and being a fantastic friend I offered to clean the worst rooms in the house...The bathrooms... I also volunteered my brother to help with some carpentry type projects around the place as well... (But I am sure he will say he offered to help)  They struck up a friendship and my sister-in-love will attest the fact that it was JUST a FRIENDSHIP, nothing else and of course I believe her because she is a terrible liar... ...

Probably one of the biggest things to happen to me in the last decade is getting to the root of my emotional history and getting medical assistance for my depression... For so many years there was a certain stigma attached to people that suffered from depression... That it wasn't real, that they weren't finding their true happiness and they just needed to snap out of it... In my mind I knew if I admitted that I was depressed than they would expect me to go through therapy and they would dope me up until I couldn't feel anything... Well that wasn't true... BFF helped me realize I needed to talk to my doctor because honestly, I just wasn't happy... At work no one could tell that on the inside I was miserable... I was still the laughing, crazy, magical me that everyone expected... However, when I was home I was sad and depressed... BFF put up with a lot, he was an amazing support... When I finally went on Meds I didn't tell anyone for awhile... Not ever BFF, be...

Well... Some may look at the glass in my hands and see it as a cool and refreshing glass of water... I look at it for what it is... A $7 glass of Japanese Sake... This was one of the items on my bucket list... To try Sake... This was my first and last glass of Sake... Mom and I both partook of the liquid madness... Mom said it best after she tried it and then decided it tastes just like rubbing alcohol... Other items still on my list is to fly in a helicopter, ride in a hot air balloon, get a professional facial, go Skinny Dipping, have a souffle, get another tattoo and so on... Something huge I did that was on my list in the past 10 years was living out my Disney dream... Packing up all of my earthly possessions and moving here to Florida to work for the most Magical Company on Earth... Cheers... Musicsongbird

Well, the verdict is in... I am feeling like ME again!!!! I received a sweet and meaningful text from my BGF in St. Louis today... It said this: Happy Last week in your 30s!!!!!!!! Yes, I am spending my last week as a 30 something and I think I want to reminisce about my life over the past 10 years... For my 30th Birthday, Mom and I took an amazing trip with my Uncle, my Dad's baby brother, first to our nation's capital... We stayed in Virginia on a military base, which was really cool... While visiting Washington DC we visited all of the landmarks including a trip up into The Washington Monument... We were also able to go into the viewing areas above congress but much like now, nothing was really going on... ;) We visited Arlington Cemetery and saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier... Along with the Memorials at night... Just an amazing trip in itself... Following DC, we drove to New Jersey and met up with my Aunt and Cousin and spent a few days taking the subway acr...

After a return to work, which I don't know was good for me or not, I came home to take an hour long nap and I am finally starting to feel like me again... :) Sometimes getting back to your regular day to day activities is just what the doctor ordered... So thank you all for your thoughts and prayers... Back to my regularly scheduled life... Musicsongbird

I hate waking up feeling sick... When I went to get up this morning the whole world spun out of control... I thought if I slept a little things would get better, but when it came down to having to get up and get ready, it just wasn't happening... So back to bed and more sleep... The dizziness has gotten better but I am still not sure how I am feeling... There is nothing worse than not knowing what's going on in your body... If I feel like this tomorrow, it will be time to call the doctor... prayers please... Musicsongbird

To my dear friend that called and left me the voice mail today... Thank you... You said I probably get a bunch of support, but not like the beautiful words you said to me... The moment you said them, tears jumped to my eyes and my heart overflowed...I didn't doubt your words once... I saved your message and have already listened to it like 4 times and it brings me to tears every time and I believe it for myself a little more each time... If you can't think of any friends that live up to that last statement... Then maybe you haven't found true friends... Thanks for making me see what you see Friend... Musicsongbird

I saw this and it totally made me laugh, because this is how I feel when I over indulge... Like the fat cat stuck with my head in the cookie box... I have fallen of the proverbial wagon so many times that they have an assigned seat for me on the edge, so it's more like a jump off than a fall... I don't even know if I think of it as falling so much as it is giving up... There is no easy fix... There is no one size fits all, if there was than we would all be as skinny as Heidi and Naomi and all of the other fashionistas of the world... I wish it could be as easy Alice, eat this it will make you smaller, drink this it will make you bigger... My friends and I used to imagine a product called ultra super slim fast, where with one drink you are picking your pants up off the floor because it made you instantly thin... But we never thought about the fact that we didn't eat a Big Mac one day and go from a size 8 to a 28... It took a lot of Big Macs and Whoppers and cookies...

A day of much needed rest... Waking to another migraine is no fun... After running two needed errands it was back to bed for much needed rest... Listen to your body... Musicsongbird

I have an amazing best friend and Mom... My Birthday Month surprises continued this morning... While we were at breakfast at Wawa this morning, I was prompted to look at my My Magic Plus app on my phone to see what the day had planned for me... To my surprise it showed dinner Reservations at Shutters, a restaurant at the Caribbean Beach Resort at Disney... I wouldn't have ever thought about going the, probably because when BFF and I started taking vacas to WDW we stayed at the Caribbean twice and the menu was different and i wasn't such an adventurous eater like I am now... But I can officially say after eating there that it was absolutely delicious and I would most definitely go again... The sweetest part of the entire evening is when BFF explained why he chose it... He said that because we had stayed at the resort a couple of times and we had eaten at the Shutters at the Vero Beach Resort, he wanted us to be able to reminisce about those past trips and try something new...

Tonight the TV show Glee memorialized Finn Hudson, who had been played by actor Cory Montieth, until his death this summer... I was a beautiful tribute to the character of Finn... The music was incredibly heart wrenching and I'm sure I am not alone when I say that I cried from the moment Mercedes' music began until the screen went to black at the end of the episode... I admire the writers of Glee for how they handled his passing, by not putting a name to it's cause; despite everyone knowing the actual cause of Cory's death... I know the cast were following their scripts, but I believe their emotions were true... The one thing I wish they would have played was a montage of Finn's character, perhaps with "Don't Stop Believing" as the background music... That was the song that started it all for the show and I believe it is the one everyone that is a fan remembers the most... This show allowed us as fans, a true opportunity to mourn Cory's pa...

Why is it that when a young star does something inappropriate by most people's standards, others make excuses for them like, oh they are growing up or it's kids these days...  Maybe I'm a prude or getting old, but I just don't understand why these 20 somethings think they need to suddenly show their "maturity" by acting like idiots... My favorite is when even their parents "support" them via social networks... If I had acted like some of these "celebri-tots" do when I was their age, my parents would not have jumped to applaud me for being an "individual" or my "talent."  If you are truly talented, why all the gimmicks? Why do they need to act like a thug, or stripped down to nothing but a smile to prove they are talented? If you are truly something special, let your talent speak for you... That's why I love Contemporary Christian artists... Yes I enjoy the worshipful music but I love the modesty, letting the music...

I had a great day meeting 4 new cast for my locations... I was able to pick them up from their Park tour and take them to their locations so they could meet the chef, since they are culinary... It was nice because listening to the chef talk to them at their first meeting I am not only learning more about my new cast member, but I am also learning more about the processes my culinary cast go through each day... I have watched Hell's Kitchen for many seasons and short of the language that is bleeped, the respect for the Chef is real... My cast were yes Chef and no Chef... It was very much like the military... When you address a senior ranking official it isn't, "Hey Bob, what's up?" "It's good morning, Sir or Good morning  Colonel..." It's just so very different... And it's a part of my new home... Musicsongbird Do you think people are afraid to bring treats for the Chef???

There is nothing more beautiful then a blank page... It holds such promise... A blank page can be turned into anything from an amazing work of art, to a literary adventure, prose of a poet, music to a symphony, a child's drawing, a love letter... A blank page is kind of like your life... When you are born everyone around you thinks of amazing ways to fill your blank pages, but in the end you are the author... What is amazing is that even though the stories can take many avenues, different twists and turns... An incredible cast of characters, some starring and some just fleeting in the background... There can be many chapters, some long and some short, but the story will last a lifetime... Make your story a best seller... Musicsongbird

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month 1 in 8   Number of women that will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer in their lifetime. Ranks #2   -Second leading cause of death among women. 2,150   Men will be diagnosed (though it's rare.) 410   Men will die... 220,000  Women diagnosed in the United States with breast cancer each year. 40,000  Women will die... It is scary to know that Breast Cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide... The one thing that can fight it is attention... We need to pay attention to our bodies... We need to do self exams, both men and women... We need to have regular doctors visits... Ladies, if you have a family history or are age 40, you need to have a mammogram every year... We have lost to many Grandmothers, Mothers, Aunts, Sisters and Friends to this horrible disease... In my family I lost an amazing cousin... What started out as breast cancer spread througho...

Right now, I don't feel like I really have anything to talk about... No words of wisdom, no cute anecdotes... I just feel like there is time to talk and a time for silence... Tonight must be one of those silent ones... So I will leave you with this... Musicsongbird

Oh what a great day... It's nice to have a day off and hangout with the BFF... However, I am excited to be going back to work tomorrow because I am loving my new (old) home and I still haven't had the chance to truly get settled in, so I am hoping I can accomplish some of that tomorrow... To all of my friends I am asking for prayer... The numbness in my hands is back accompanied by pain in my wrist and thumb joint at times... My pin doctor is treating it but I know God is the great physician and He can do anything... Musicsongbird

I love going to Acupuncture but most of the time I sleep so good when I am being pinned that I have trouble going to sleep at night... Thankfully I don't work tomorrow but I do get to spend time with BFF and Mom... Since October is my Birthday month and this year is a milestone one, BFF decided to do a mini-version of what we did for Mom, for me... Tonight he bought me dinner and it was so very sweet... He also told me that he had a secret that he was keeping from me... After many doubtful moments, he decided to share his secret... So apparently a week ago when we were at Tybee, he woke up in the middle of the night to me snoring and he recorded me so that I could hear it later... The next morning he said he felt bad and wasn't going to tell me... Well, a week later he finally did... In my head I had mixed emotions about it, but at no time was I mad about it... And as I have had time to process it, I think it is very sweet to do this for me... Now some of you may be saying,...

A very sweet friend of mine helped me look into myself with an incredible incite... She said, " I know you want to loose the weight, and i know it hasn't been an easy journey. You, my dear, need to realize you are worth the time effort and dedication. With all you have done in the past year I've known you I have seen a lot of self growth, but you still have quite a bit of self doubt. Your weight, I feel, is a protective barrier for you. You'll have to loose it the good old fashion way, diet, exercise, and self determination." This is such a huge truth...For so long I have worried about everyone else and had given up on myself... Well, no more... I have to matter to me as much as I matter to others... Musicsongbird

I did pretty good today and feel even better tonight... Weird and a little bit creepy thing happened after work tonight... I was driving to meet up with friends for trivia night and happy hour and bee bopping along to the music on the radio when a Taxi Van pulled up along side of me in traffic... I noticed the guy was looking at me almost like he was trying to get my attention, but I just kept singing along to the music... The traffic started moving again and he pulled in behind me... At the next stop light I noticed he had put his car in park and had jumped out of his van walking towards me... I lowered the window slightly and he pushed his business card at me and said, "call me," and then went back to his van... At this point I was freaked out and he stopped following me, thankfully or I would have had to keep driving...Maybe he thought I was cute or maybe he thought I could use a cab at some point, but this was just weird...There wasn't anything on his card except ...